Market Gallery School Trips

With downtown Toronto and the St. Lawrence Market as a backdrop, students can participate in our many interactive curriculum-linked programs, including mapping activities and role playing. Take advantage of our location and all that the oldest neighbourhood in Toronto has to offer. Programs are available for elementary and secondary school students, students of ESL, and community groups.

Our programs are designed for groups between five and 40 students. If your group is larger, please contact us to discuss modification options.

Included in your booking is the option to use our lunch room to eat food brought from home or purchased at the market. Please note this lunch room is not elevator-accessible; if an accessible space is required, please let us know at the time of booking.

To book a school trip to the Market Gallery, please contact the museum directly:

Students enjoy an illustrated talk on the changing history of the neighbourhood and the market building. Today, the market is an animated centre that wonderfully combines the traditions of the past with the tastes and flavours of contemporary, multicultural Toronto.

A two-part activity is available for intermediate to advanced students. Students will use their listening, reading and writing skills to complete a worksheet on the history of the neighbourhood and market. Afterwards students must communicate and interact with merchants to learn more about the market.

30 minutes, $2.66 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

In a discussion format using visual aids, students trace Toronto’s development through its 200 year history. The discussion focuses on the patterns and environmental components of a successful settlement and how industry and immigration contributed to its growth and diversity.

Discuss the patterns of a successful settlement

Examine the impact of industry and immigration on growth and diversity

Using ideas developed during the discussion, students will create their own map of city/town

1.5 hours, $4.43 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

Ontario Curriculum

Students discuss healthy eating habits by examining Canada’s Food Guide. In smaller groups with a supervisor, students explore the market and must develop an interesting and nutritional meal to feed all members of the group.

Working as a group explore the market and devise a nutritional meal using Canada’s Food Guide

Compare prices, look for specials and search for unusual or ethnic foods

Ontario Curriculum

Topic: Healthy Living

Students explore the different levels of government and their respective responsibilities focusing on municipal government through visual aids and activities. Students work in groups as a mock city council to sort and classify information obtained from newspaper articles. They take a position and debate the issue at hand. Afterwards, the rest of council will vote.

Discover Canada’s governments, focusing on municipal government

Examine documents and relevant newspaper articles

Debate, as a municipal council, issues presented

3 hours, $5.31 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

Ontario Curriculum

Topics: Aspects of Citizenship & Government in Canada

Students examine the impact of geological, agricultural, industrial and human development on the Don Valley’s natural environment.

Trace the history and geography of the Don Valley through visual aids and hands-on activity

Explore the influential factors in the revitalization of the Don River with an interactive exercise

Ontario Curriculum

Students explore the oldest neighbourhood in Toronto using a map and compass. Working in smaller groups students are assigned a time period in the 19th century and must use orienteering and mapping skills to find the sites on the map. The groups come together and share their findings with the rest of the class and create a timeline together.

Working as a group students discover where the City of Toronto began

Take rubbings/recordings of historical plaques

As a group, students will share their findings and construct a timeline of the area in the 19th century

3 hours, $5.31 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

Ontario Curriculum

Topic: Patterns in Human Geography

Students explore Toronto’s 200 year-old history using visual aids and identifying key components of the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood using a map from the 19th century. Students analyze and describe the development of various Toronto neighbourhoods throughout the City’s history.

Examine patterns in human geography

Discuss issues of urban development, including population distribution, density and residential, industrial and recreational land use.

Explore, with photographs, Toronto’s neighbourhoods

1.5 hours, $4.43 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

Ontario Curriculum

Topics: History and Geography, Patterns in Human Geography

In September 1851, members of the Black community in Toronto and across the province organized a convention at the St. Lawrence Hall on King Street East. Delegates attended the convention from as far away as Britain, the Caribbean and the U.S. The purpose of the convention was to discuss how to bring about emancipation from slavery in the U.S. and how the Black community should proceed in a new free society.

Students are introduced to notable Torontonians who played a major role in the 19th century Anti-Slavery movement

Learn about Toronto’s Black community and the law

Discuss the convention movement and its results

Students role play an important member of the convention and present their stance to the rest of the class

3 hours (including lunch break) or can be modified to 1.5 hours. $5.31 plus tax per student, supervisors are free

Ontario Curriculum

Topic: Conflict and Change, Canada: A Changing Society

Using the St. Lawrence Market as a resource, students investigate the issues surrounding the production and distribution of food in Toronto, particularly access to local and global food sources.

Students visit the Market and source local and/or organic ingredients for the provided recipe

Students present and discuss what they found and the issues raised

This program meets the course requirements of secondary school Food and Nutritional Sciences programs

An optional cooking workshop can be added to an additional $7.08 plus tax per student